| Kammergericht | |
|---|---|
 Kammergericht building, view from Kleistpark | |
 Interactive map of Kammergericht | |
| 52°29′33″N13°21′26″E / 52.492447°N 13.357181°E /52.492447; 13.357181 | |
| Established | 15th century |
| Jurisdiction | Berlin,Germany |
| Location | Elßholzstraße 30-31, Berlin-Schöneberg |
| Coordinates | 52°29′33″N13°21′26″E / 52.492447°N 13.357181°E /52.492447; 13.357181 |
| Authorised by | Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz [de] |
| Website | berlin |
| President | |
| Currently | Bernd Pickel [de] |
TheKammergericht (KG) is theOberlandesgericht, the higheststate court, for thecity-state ofBerlin,Germany. As anordinary court according to the German Courts Constitution Act (Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz), it deals withcriminal andcivil cases, superior to the localAmtsgerichte and theLandgericht Berlin. Its name differs from other state courts for historic reasons; it is the only court called Kammergericht in Germany.
A Kammergericht was first mentioned in 1468, when it adjudicated in the chambers (German:Kammern) of theprince-electors ofBrandenburg. According to theprivilegium de non-appellando granted by theHoly Roman Emperor, the Brandenburg subjects were prohibited fromappealing to the Imperial authority. Therefore, the Kammergericht acted assupreme court in theImperial estate ruled by theHohenzollern electors.
As theappellate court ofBrandenburg-Prussia and theKingdom of Prussia from 1701, it was since 1698 based in the centralCölln quarter of Berlin. In 1735, under the rule of KingFrederick William I, it moved to the newly erectedBaroqueCollegienhaus in theFriedrichstadt district (in present-dayKreuzberg). It then housed the supreme courts and judges of the different territories ruled inpersonal union by the royal House of Hohenzollern, without formally merging the different juridical systems. By that concentration in one locality, the later unification of the juridical systems was prepared. TheCollegienhaus is today part of theJewish Museum Berlin.
From the 18th century, the Kammergericht gained a reputation as independent authority in notable lawsuits such as theMiller Arnold case or in the trial ofJohann Heinrich Schulz. After theGreater Poland Uprising of 1846, numerousPolish insurgents, among themLudwik Mierosławski andKarol Libelt, were tried at the Kammergericht, but amnestied by KingFrederick William IV during the1848 revolution. AfterGerman unification and the establishment of the uniform termOberlandesgericht for a state supreme court by theGerman Empire in 1877, the Kammergericht kept its name.
In 1913, it moved to its present location in a newly erectedNeo-Baroque building in the formerBotanical Garden, laid out byJohann Sigismund Elsholtz in 1679, which had been relocated to theDahlem andLichterfelde in 1898. The premises in the present-daySchöneberg district were renamedHeinrich-von-Kleist-Park on the occasion of the hundredths anniversary of the death ofHeinrich von Kleist on 21 November 1911. It became colloquially known asKleistpark.
In August 1944 the Kleistpark building was the site of theshow trial conducted by thePeople's Court (Volksgerichtshof) under JudgeRoland Freisler against the surviving conspirators of the20 July plot. 9 months later, theAllied Control Council began using the building. On 18 October 1945, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) of theNuremberg trials held its constituent meeting here.
The building remained the official seat of the council, though its meeting discontinued after theSoviet representatives left in protest in March 1948. On 3 September 1971, theFour Power Agreement on Berlin was signed here. The Kammergericht was based at the formerReichskriegsgericht inCharlottenburg during theCold War era, until it moved back to its former location in 1997.
Extensively restored, the Kammergericht building today is also the seat of theConstitutional Court of the State of Berlin (Verfassungsgerichtshof des Landes Berlin) and the state'sAttorney General (Generalstaatsanwalt).
